Things are Not Always as They Seem
Exodus 14:15-31
Did you know that fear and anxiety can often cause us to act irrationally? In our most recent Wednesday night service at Calvary Church, I taught from Exodus chapter 14, which covered this topic.
Emotions are Real
Fear and anxiety are powerful emotions that can blind us from the real truth and the correct perspective of the situation. This is where we find the Israelites in this section of scripture. They seem to be in an impossible situation with the Red Sea before them and the Egyptian army behind them. The Israelites were trapped, yet God had a plan. The same is true for you and me. We must cast our fears upon the Lord and seek refuge in Him. His Word tells us in Proverbs 29:25, “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe,” and again in Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Our emotions are real but don’t always tell us the truth. Let’s trust in God’s faithfulness, even when faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges, just as the Israelites did at the Red Sea.
When to Pray; When to Act
How do we discern when to pray and when to act during a crisis? It can be a delicate balance. Sometimes, God calls us to be still and trust in His sovereignty. At other times, God prompts us to take bold steps forward. We can trust the Holy Spirit. He will guide us in our decision-making and direct our steps.
In Exodus 14, God acted on behalf of the Israelites, and deliverance was theirs! He had made a way out of their seemingly impossible situation, a way that they never even thought of.
A New Identity
Your past does not define you! Your past behaviors, temptations you succumbed to, or sins you committed are over! Egypt has nothing for you. You have been transformed; you have been made new. Do you believe that? It is true; you are a new creation in Christ. I encourage you to begin to walk in the victory and freedom that come from having a relationship with Jesus.
Living by faith is far more crucial than seeking to understand everything that is happening. We don’t want to arrive at the wrong conclusion because we factored out God and His faithfulness. Things are not always as they seem. Learning to trust in God’s promises, rather than our limited understanding, empowers us to overcome our struggles and find victory in Christ. Let’s focus on faith, obedience, and the freedom that comes from trusting in God’s faithfulness.
Ventures Of Faith: Navigating The Unknown With God
The Wonder of Following God by Faith
Full Transcription
Open your Bibles. Exodus chapter 14 is where we are. Exodus chapter 14. We’re going to finish the chapter. And I’ve entitled The Bible Study, “Things Are Not Always As They Seem.” Things are not always as they seem. A big place this is true in our lives is in the times of fear and anxiety. Fear and anxiety can, well, at least fear…can be used in such a way where we’re startled into action and could even be used in a good way. The Bible speaks of the “fear of the Lord,” or, that respect and honor for the glory and the holiness and the righteousness of God. God uses fear where there’s danger to avoid, and alerts our emotions and prepares us to flee to safety.
But fear and anxiety will often cause an, otherwise very rational person, to do a lot of irrational things. Fear and anxiety have a way of causing normally rational and logical people to have their minds and lives filled with very irrational and illogical thoughts. You can jot it down in Proverbs 29: 25. It says, “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.” And I wonder how many among us…I know not everybody deals with deep fear and anxiety, but many do. And I wonder how many among us know this to be true? Where you’ve just seen that things are going just fine and just moving along. And then, man, something triggered that place of fear and anxiety, and you’re no longer walking in a faith relationship with God, but you’re trying to control events and circumstances to try to deal with the fear. It’s like this: your eyes have been taken off of the faithfulness of God and put on some circumstance, some situation, and then your emotions are all tied up in it and wrapped up in it, and before you know it, you’re so far away from the Lord you didn’t even realize it.
In Matthew 10:28, it says, Jesus says, “Don’t fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell.” Emotions are powerful. And fearful emotions can move us in directions toward safety, but also sometimes toward danger. Back in Proverbs 29:25, the word “snare,” is used. The definition of snare; “the fear of man brings a snare,” the typical definition is, “something by which one is entangled; to be entangled or involved in difficulties.” Or a snare is something that impedes our progress, and a snare is often something that’s deceptively attractive.
I mean, we think of a snare like a trap, like maybe a bear trap. And, you know, you don’t see it. Whether you’re a bear or a human, you don’t see it. It’s covered up, has some type of bait on it. I mean, I’ve never really seen a bear trap, like, personally, but I’ve seen a lot of other traps in my life. Well hidden. Nicely baited. And before you know it, boom, it gets me. And I’m entangled in it. And I’m stopped in my progress. I’m caught up in new difficulties. And when we deal with fears, we deal with the past; and it has a way of haunting us. And the present has a way of overwhelming us. The future is unknown. And, so, we’re all wrapped up on what might be and what could be. But the Bible tells us, and we’re reminded today, that Jesus has it all worked out for us. That you can trust Him with your life. Just in that moment when you were born again, when you’re laid your whole life on the line, you can live that way. You can trust Him. God is working today, “all things together for the good,” for those that love him (Romans 8:28). Do you love him, church? I love Jesus and I can trust that he’s working things out.
I can trust that he’s going to put the pieces together. I can trust this in Psalm 119:50, “This is my comfort in my affliction for Your Word has given me life.” Knowing and experiencing and abiding in His love casts out all fear. 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” Fear is always an indication that I need to get back into that place of love and abiding. Running to the Father; trusting him; hiding in; covered by, Christ.
Well, here in Exodus chapter 14, we have a moment of fear. And it’s one of those places in the Bible that I think, on the one hand, we can relate, and on the other hand, it’s hard to relate only because we know the whole story. So when you’re reading the Bible, you have to remember this: those that we’re reading about are living out this situation in real time. They do not know the next paragraph; or the next verse; or the next chapter….
They, in a very real way, are living on the promises of God. They’re trusting in their leadership. They’re looking back and seeing the faithfulness of God, but they don’t know the future. And we come to a time in the nation of Israel being delivered from Egypt. They are led into a dead end; millions of people. So it’s not just a small group of people. Millions of people are led into a trap and there seems to be no way out. The Red Sea is before them. On either side of them are mountains, or large hills, on either side. And then, coming up behind them very quickly, the “dust,” is rising. Or the armies of Egypt.
I mean, they’ve just been delivered. Certainly there are some logical men in the group. There are some logical people that are assessing the situation. They see the trap. The only way out is to come backwards. But then they’re thinking, you know, “the entire economic engine of Egypt has just left.” They recognize the strength and the power that they brought to this nation, and now they’re gone. And whether they can see it with their own eyes, or they can hear it with their own ears, or they can just see the dust coming up, they recognize that they’re in trouble. And it’s true. They are in a difficult spot. That was a truth. The fast approaching Egyptian army is coming for them. And yet there’s truth, but only partial truth.
It is true, all the circumstances that I just shared. Except that their fear has blinded them from God’s will for their lives. Their fear has blinded them from the truth. The real truth. These are all elements of what’s happening, and they’re all true elements. But what is the real truth? The real truth that they’re about to find out is that God has led the children of Israel to a place to trap the Egyptians. That’s really what He’s doing. He’s going to make Himself, His Name, known among the Egyptians. Yet, one more time, Pharaoh and his pride is falling into the hands of the Lord.
God does this, you know, when you follow Him. He leads you into places that…you come up with all the conclusions, you assess it, you look at it, and you come to the conclusions, and many times your conclusions are wrong. Because you factored out your faith in God and His faithfulness; you failed to take your real fear and cast it upon the Lord for His safety and His security that you find in Him. Now I may be the only one in the room – I doubt that I am – but I may be the only one in the room that does that, but I know of which I speak. How easy it is to assess, and to look, and to see, and just to come to conclusions that aren’t from the Lord at all. Even if you’re in a trap tonight, God is working. He’s working behind the scenes. He’s taking care of things that you don’t see; that He hasn’t yet revealed. Even as we see, now, notice in verse 15, we’ll really pick up in verse 14, as it says, “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
And then, notice, the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.” Where would they go forward? Into the sea. That’s the word, Moses. “Tell them to go forward. Why are you crying out to me?” Now, this is interesting because in verse 15, as Moses has turned to the Lord and just cried out to him, you can say that God is saying to Moses, “stop praying.” Stop praying, this is what you need to do, here’s your answer: Get up and tell them to “go forward.” And you go, “Oh, would God ever tell us to stop praying?” Oh, yes. Jot it down, you remember in Joshua. Well, no, turn over there. Turn over to Joshua chapter seven with me. Joshua is in a great crisis. It’s such a difficult time. Later on, in the children of Israel, among the nation, you have great defeat at Ai. They had great victory in Jericho. But there was great defeat at Ai. And it has troubled Joshua, their leader, greatly.
Notice in Joshua chapter seven it says in verse ten.
So the Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived, and they have also put it among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turn their backs before their enemies, because they become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. Get up, sanctify the people and say, ‘sanctify yourselves for tomorrow’” Joshua 7:10-13
There’s a time to pray, and there’s a time to act. And God tells Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? It’s time to move.” Verse 16,
Lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I, indeed, will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I’ll gain honor over Pharaoh, and over all his army as chariots and his horsemen. Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. Exodus 14:16-17
Someone once said, “Only when we learn to stand still are we able to go forward.” And it reminded me of Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.”
And sometimes when we’re standing, the Lord would have us to be moving. And sometimes when we’re moving, the Lord would have us to be standing. Which everyone asks a good question at this point: How do I know the difference? How do I know the difference? Well, you can trust the Spirit of God in your life, believer. You have the Spirit of God dwelling in you, and you can trust that He will have you stand when you need to stand; and move when you need to move. And we’ve learned that in our studies; this goes, really, very well with some previous studies we’ve had on our weekend services.
Through the opening and closing of doors – that’s one way. Through the reading of His scriptures – that’s another. Through your intimate prayer times – that’s another. Through your morning walks or your evening walks – that’s another. Through a trusted brother or sister in the Lord – that’s another.
But here’s the thing, no matter what, if you’re going to stand or you’re going to sit; if you’re going to pray or if you’re going to act – you have to do it by faith. Because, I know, we want to know for sure. I gotta know. I gotta know for sure. And the Lord says, “I want you to trust Me,” for sure. I want you to trust Me.
And here, God tells Moses, “Get up.” You’re going to speak because God is ready. God’s ready to act. Deliverance was theirs. All they needed to do now is follow their leader in faith. There was a way that didn’t even cross their minds in this trap. There was a way out of this that they didn’t even think of. Or maybe, perhaps, some of them thought…one of the thoughts you can hear ring out in the beginning there, “maybe we can swim.” “Maybe we can swim…and then….”
Are you serious? Nobody’s…”There going to get us before the first, second or third row of millions of people go through.” “Maybe we can climb….” Ah, come on! There’s no way! There’s no way, you know. Well, “Maybe a few of us will get over, but they’ll get the rest of us; and what about the women; and what about the children; what about our stuff?” I’m sure it was a chaotic scene. But there was a way that God had for them that they had yet to know until it was revealed, and church, there is a way available to you, even now, that God has yet to reveal. And until He does, you look to Him. You stay faithful to Him.
You’re caught up in the impossibility of it all. And God says, “I don’t want you even thinking about the impossibility. I want you to think about what’s possible. I want you to look to Me.” The impossibility is swallowed up by God giving you something you can do. It’s amazing! God does this very often. When we’re faced with something we can’t do, God starts with something we can do. And so you have this impossibility. You’re trapped. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” you say. OK, well, I know you don’t know what’s going to happen here in this trap, but I’ll tell you what – you can pray. I’ll tell you what – you can come to fellowship. You know, some of you might even be here right now, you’re right, because the crisis got you. The crisis got you; and you don’t know what to do.
“I know what I’ll do, I can go to church. I haven’t been there in a while.” Well, welcome back! Because you could. You haven’t, but you could. And, here, God knows things that I don’t know yet. It brings me comfort to know that God knows what He’s doing with my life. I don’t always know what He’s doing in my life. I don’t always know how things are going to turn out. I don’t always know what’s going to happen in the morning. I don’t always know, but God does. Jesus would remind me. He would tell us, He says, “Take my yoke upon you, and…,” what? “Learn from me” (Matt 11:29).
What can we learn from Jesus? His utter dependence upon the Father; His complete surrender to the Father.
What can we learn from Jesus? We can learn that our Father in Heaven is a gracious and good God, that He’s not ready to give us rocks and scorpions and snakes, but He’s ready to give us the Holy Spirit when we ask (Luke 11:13).
We learn of Jesus that our Father in Heaven is always like that dad that was waiting for his prodigal kid to come home. While at the same time He was living with his other prodigal kid, faithfully loving them, and caring for them, and being available to them – even when they wanted nothing to do with Him (Luke 15:11-32).
Then, what do we learn from Jesus? We learn that obedience brings blessing (Luke 11:28).
And what do we learn from Jesus? Every time you open up the Gospels, you have a specific lesson we learn from Jesus. “Look at the flowers,” tomorrow (Luke 12:27). Pay attention to them. Beautiful and wonderful they are, He says. You look at the flowers. You see how beautiful they are? Man, I’m telling you, my Father, He’ll take care of all of your needs. You don’t need to worry about what you’re going to wear (Luke 12:22).
Pay attention to the birds (Luke 12:24). Perhaps, like me, you have birds that think they own your house. And so they’re all over thinking that they pay the rent. They don’t pay the rent on my house, but they live their rent free. I’ve never woke up. I’ve never any time I’ve observed the birds and enjoyed them and listen to them in the morning. Up to this point, I have never seen any kind of any birds up on the sidewalk of my house, back and forth, all worried, “I don’t know what’s going to happen today; I don’t know what’s happening and I can’t believe it. I don’t know where my next food…where are the worms?” I’ve never seen a bird…have you seen a bird do that? I’ve just seen a bird singing, and enjoying life, and avoiding predators, and making nests in my house, and thinking they’re going to get away with it; watching me.
I’ll come out in the morning and birds will be on all the corners of my neighbor’s houses, checking me out, wanting to dive bomb me. Like, “what’s your problem? Come on, man, come on.” Like, what are you guys doing? They completely, completely live a life of trust.
We have a lot to learn from Jesus. It’s very simple. He’s a very simple and yet very powerful teacher. You feel like you’re trapped today? Jesus says, “Come and learn from me.” Come and learn that even through the worst, torturous pain that a human being could ever endure, you learn from Jesus, “I triumphed.” “I rose again from the dead.” “I’m alive today.” “Learn from me.” “Come to me.”
Paul would even pick up on this in his own personal life in Ephesians 4. You remember he said in verse 20, “But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man….”
The old man worried. The old woman tried to control. The old man loved to take things into his own hand. The old woman ran away from her problems; but you haven’t learned that from Christ. You put off the old conduct.
They’re in a place of learning to follow the Lord. And they’re in a great….I have found that some of the deepest, most intimate times I’ve had with the Lord have been some of the most deepest times of crisis in my life. Where I’ve been brought to the very lowest of lows in my life, and the Lord has been so faithful to meet me there. Notice in verse 17 again, God is giving him the plan. He doesn’t always do this, but He gives the plan. “I’m going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians; they’re going to follow; as you guys move forward, they’re going to follow you on that….” You guys are going to be on dry ground…He doesn’t say anything about them being on dry ground…just, He says in verse 17 that, “I’m going to gain honor.” There’s going to be honor through this. The Egyptians, verse 18, are going to “Know that I’m the Lord God, that I’ve gained honor for myself over Pharaoh,” their chief god, little “g,” remember, and his chariots, what they were trusting in (Psalm 20:7).
These weapons of war, and his horsemen, the men that thought that they were “chief.” That they were going to take over; that they were going to bring these men back into slavery. And verse 19, it says,
The angel of God who went before the camp of Israel moved and went behind them. And the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one. But it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.” Exodus 14:19-20
God is going to…He’s reminding them: You’ve already seen this nation. And, remember, there’s millions of people here, so it’s going to have to be handed down. Moses is going to give leadership and it’s going to be handed down. “Tell the person behind you.” “Tell the person behind you.” “Tell the person behind you.” Listen, you and I, we want to be very, very careful what we’re “telling the person behind us.”
The person behind us? Well, yeah! There’s a lot of people looking to your life, watching your life, listening to you, waiting for the right moment to talk to you. You know, they see the same things in the world you see. And the things in the world, they trouble me from time to time. Depending on what kind of day it is or where the condition of my mind and heart is, man, I’m not always so super confident when I see….
I know what the Lord…I’m so grateful. It’s the second time that John 14 was brought up in my life today. Just thinking about the promise of Jesus. He’s going to take care of me. He’s going to come back for me. Just trust Him. Isn’t that just so encouraging as you were praying over that today? You’re just praying through it. It’s like, “God, You’re coming back for me. You’re going to sustain me until You come.” The people that are behind you – your kids, and your grandkids; the person that’s sitting behind you. Right now. In the row behind you!
So, you, become an example to them; just your presence. They’ll never tell you, or never really even want to tell you, but your presence there. They’re reminded today by you – the person behind you – that they’re not alone in this world. And you go, “Well, they haven’t even met me yet!” No, no, you don’t understand. They’re your brother and your sister. Part of the family. The people behind you…you want to be careful. You want to be careful in what you say. You want to be careful in how you act. You want to be careful in how you carry yourself. The person behind you, they’re going to have to hear it. And as the word gets out, they’re just going to have to follow. I mean, that’s a lot of people. God’s moving really fast, so who knows how far it went back. Everyone else is just going to have to follow.
And the Bible tells us that we’re to find examples to follow, and we’re to find examples to avoid. And that always reminds me in my own walk from an early age, I just want to be one of the examples that someone can follow. I know I’m not going to be a perfect example, and I know I’m not going to hit the mark every time, but I want to hit it a lot. I want to walk a straight line. I want to be someone that, in my example, will help them along the way. It won’t hurt them; it won’t hinder them; it won’t stumble them; it won’t trouble them. But as much as a human being can bring encouragement, that’s the mark I want to hit. I want to follow the Lord. And like Paul said, you know, “Imitate me,” as what? “As I imitate Christ” (1 Cor 11:1). And here’s the nation – they’re going to have to move forward toward an impossibility. But, then, quick movement takes place. Quick movement. The cloud is going to be a darkness to the Egyptians, but it’s going to be a light to the nation of Israel, just like the cross.
The cross is light to one, but an offense to another. Remember in 1 Corinthians 1:18 it says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it’s the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.’”
Verse 21, now notice, “then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea.” Now why did he stretch out his hand? Mark it back in verse 16, “But lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it.” How did Moses become the man where it didn’t take him six times to do this, but he did it right away? Well, it didn’t take him five times. It didn’t take him six times. It didn’t take him ten times. Because God has prepared him for this moment. Certainly, he’s just as fearful as anyone else; or wrapped up in the concern for the people because he loved them. But you can mark this in verse 21, this is another example of immediate obedience, “He stretched his hand out over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night. And he made the sea into a dry land, and the waters were divided.”
So many people have a problem with this miracle of God. So much debate about these scriptures. It’s often explained away; put in a place where it couldn’t have possibly happen. One of the popular explanations that come up in commentaries is that “in the Hebrew, the word isn’t the ‘Red sea,’ but the ‘reed sea.’” And really, what’s being described here, according to critics is, “it’s just a smaller body of water that was only inches deep, and they crossed over because it was very low; very low.”
That’s interesting because even a greater miracle would have taken place. In verse 23, it says,
The Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and he troubled the army of the Egyptians. And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians. Exodus 14:23-25
And then, in verse 26, he told Moses,
“Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. Exodus 14:26-28
I think that would be a much greater miracle if they walked into inches of water, and they drowned in inches of water. As the waters came above them…it’s…look…I believe in the God of the Bible. And the issue is not so much the “Red sea,” or the, “reed sea.” That’s a nonsensical response. This was a full body of water that was large enough to stop a nation from going forward and to swallow up a chasing army. But truly, the God of the Bible is revealed. Not so much having a difficulty; I have a hard time believing this. Actually you’re too far into the text, because the real verse you need to come to terms with for the rest of the Bible is not Genesis chapter 14, it’s Genesis 1:1.
Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” That verse, that verse alone, how you view Genesis 1:1, will determine how you view the rest of the Bible. Oh, “I don’t believe God would….” All right. That’s probably why you doubt a lot of the Bible. Well, “You know, I’m not sure that God could….” Yeah, I know you say that about anything that challenges you. Anything in the Bible that you’re, “I don’t believe that God can heal today.” Yeah. What do you think about Genesis 1:1? “I don’t know. I don’t know, maybe God did this and kind of did this and He sort of did that. And you know, what about Mars?” Well, what do you mean, “what about Mars?” “Is there any is there alien life on some planet we don’t know about?”
Let’s just pause for a second, “What do you think about Genesis 1:1?” “I don’t know about Genesis 1:1.” And you go on and on and on. Because when you refuse to believe, then belief is harder as you continue to go forward. Here, we need to be careful to give God the credit and believe Him.
If you come back with me, notice again in verse 21, “Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.” Notice verse 22, this is very important, “So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them.”
Now if it’s only inches, then it’s a wall to their ankles. Like right here, a little wall they can just walk through like the bumpers when you’re going bowling. You know, just a little…little inches of…it just doesn’t make any sense at all! Just from the context of the text alone, let alone Genesis 1:1. But notice they became a wall on the right hand and on their left. God changed their perspective. He got their eyes off of everything. And God is God. You can almost say he got their eyes down on his faithfulness. They were looking at all their circumstances, and God narrowed down what they were to look at – God’s faithfulness. And we read already, “The Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, .”
And some time has taken place here. So, a lot of people crossing…crossing along. But, notice, “It came to pass in the morning,” verse 24, “that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians and troubled,” them. “Took off their chariot wheels, drove them with difficulty.” Because the enemy just is relentless, just continually…what did Peter say? That the devil is, “like a roaring lion seeking whom he whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
Defeated. And, ultimately, destroyed. But the devil is determined. Defeated, and ultimately destroyed; but he’s determined. Just like these, they kept…hey, man, their wheels are falling off. Difficulties coming, but they’re pressing, pressing, pressing. And He took them off. Verse 26, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand…that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians.” He did it. Verse 27,
The sea returned to its full depth while the Egyptians were fleeing . So the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. But the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on the right hand and on their left. Exodus 14:27-29
This is a moment in time. I want you to pay attention. Be paying careful attention. The nation of Israel is gaining a new identity here. God is bringing them farther and farther away from their past into the “newness of life.” With the waters coming back, the old life in Egypt is over. They were only able to cross through the Red sea miraculously. They will not be able to cross back in their own strength. Just as if they weren’t able to cross on their own strength; they will not be able to go backwards in their own strength. There’s no turning back.
Now, of course, they can turn back in their hearts and that’ll cause them problems, but they can’t do it physically. A new identity, and this is important for us today in our new covenant life, because that is a picture of salvation. God did for you, born again believer, what you cannot do for yourself. He provided for us the blood of Jesus Christ to forgive us of our sins and give us a new identity. You can no longer live in your “oldness of life.” You are no longer who you were.
When you made a commitment to Jesus Christ, it’s complete; it’s full. At least it should be. Don’t even talk about going backwards. Don’t even entertain it. Egypt has nothing for us. This world has nothing for us. I don’t know what point you’re going to be convinced of that. I don’t know at what point you’re finally going to turn your back on this system and on this culture. And I don’t mean for the sake of salvation, the sake of love and care; the investment; self-sacrifice. I’m not speaking of that.
But to think, still, that you’re going to find fulfillment in this world. To think, still, that going back to Egypt…what does Egypt represent? The bondage of sin; it represents the world system. To think, for a moment, that going back to the bondage and slavery is going to bring you fulfillment when the fact that you’re delivered today because you cried out because you didn’t like it? What a vicious cycle! “Deliver us! Deliver us!” Okay, “God’s delivered us; it’s unbelievable! God’s delivered us!” “I want to go back! It’s hard!”
What do you mean, “you want to go back?” “Yeah, I just remember…I’m thinking back on how good it was.” How good it was? You’re not thinking right! You’re not thinking right. You have forgotten…you know, that’s how we are. We’ve got this unique selective memory. Just because things have gotten hard, “in Christ,” you forgot how hard they were, “in the world.” You have a new identity. You have been bought now with a price (1 Cor 6:20, 7:23). And I want you to turn to this…those of you dealing with identity, and challenging with “who you are,” and, “what’s God’s will for your life,” and, “what does the future hold?”
Turn over to 2 Corinthians 5. I want you to memorize this scripture. It’s so powerful and I want you to “walk in the newness of life” (Romans 6:4). It’s so glorious to consider the work of Jesus in our lives. We are literally, “a new creation in Christ,” a new person (Gal 6:15). And in 2 Corinthians 5:17, a man who needed this verse himself, you remember – Saul of Tarsus? All the guilt and shame and things he could have carried and perhaps battled because of who he was and what he did. 2 Cor 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a,” say it with me, church, “new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.” That’s the way it is, church. And there’s one, “amen,” in the house. But we’ll take it.
On a personal level. As a person that wrestled with alcohol for many, many years – and drugs – and just so destroyed my life…I was forced by the courts as part of one of my sentences to go to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. And, I don’t want to be misunderstood, here, whatever tool you need to use in order to stay sober, you use that tool. But I want you to be careful when you’re using tools. You know, maybe training a kid how to use a tool, “I want you to be careful; I want you to learn safety; put your goggles on; hold it rightly.”
But I was forced to go to these meetings. And one after another a person would get up, “Hello, I’m so-and-so and I’m an alcoholic.” “Hello, I’m so-and-so and I’m an alcoholic.” “Hello, I’m so-and-so, I’m recovering.” You know? And on, and on, and on, again. The Bible declares, born again believer, who may have had great difficulty with alcohol, the Bible declares you are a new creation in Christ. “Old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.” So it could be that you need that gathering for encouragement and support. But when they ask you to stand up before the group, you cannot declare that you are, “an alcoholic,” and be, “a new creation,” at the same time.
You are no longer…I mean, think about it. Some of you have been sober for 30 years. When are you going to call it? When’s it going to be? When are you going to finally say, “Alcohol has no power over me, I’m a new creation in Christ?” I’ll tell you when you can call it – the very second you’re born again. And the “third second.” And the second day. And the month. And the year.
I look at those that have wrestled within homosexuality or lesbianism or the whole LGBTQ community, and even within the church today, carrying into the church, “Well, you know, I’m just ‘same-sex attracted.’ That’s what I am.” No, you’re a new creation in Christ. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. “You know, I’m just a “sex addict.” No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! You’re a new creation in Christ. Old things have passed away. Behold. All things. You are not subject to your emotions and to your behaviors. God has invaded your life. You have a new identity that is replaced by the power of God in your life. To bridge the gap of your wrestling with sin and your temptation and your new creation is what? Faith.
And this is where it’s easy to be misunderstood. This is what you need to learn to do. You need to learn to declare your new identity. To declare it. Oh, you’re not, “calling something that isn’t into existence,” like this phrase is misused. When you declare your identity in Christ, you’re actually speaking the truth over your life. You have been delivered. You are a new creation in Christ. You are not identified. I am not identified by my previous, sinful behavior.
“Yeah, but you don’t understand that….” I feel like I know what your feelings say, but the Bible says you’re a new creation in Christ.
“Yeah, but I was tempted, and I fell into this sin again, and it feels like I’m not….” I know what you’ve gone through, but the Bible says. Who do you want to believe? Your emotions or the Bible? Who do you want to believe? The way the culture’s pressuring you or the Bible? What’s the outcome of your life? You know, the children of Israel that, “We’ll go through, but we’re still slaves, and we’ll go back to Egypt any time we want?” You are not slaves. God has delivered you.
Jesus, so much would say, “To whom you present yourself as a slave…you present yourself to sin that you become a slave to sin. You present yourself to righteousness. You are a slave to righteousness (Rom 6:19). You don’t believe me? Challenging? Wrestling in your mind? I want you to just consider the few minutes you’ve been listening to me. Not arguing with me, but listening to me on this. And how much sin has not taken root in your life, and how much temptation has not led you out the door, and how much you haven’t hid an alcohol bottle in your purse and started sneaking a drink while I’m teaching the Bible. Why? Because you’ve presented yourself to righteousness. And for every moment you present yourself to righteousness, you live as the new creation you are. It’d be very hard for you to stand you back to the original illustration. Those of you that have lived under the bondage of alcohol. Maybe you don’t even believe you could be free from it, but in Christ you’re free and so you can stand and say, “I am a new creation in Christ, and God has kept me sober,” and then you fill in the blanks x, y, z. Ten days. Ten years. For the last 30 years, whatever it may be, so that you give God the glory.
This is the work of Jesus in you. The work of man in you keeps you a slave. See, what no program could do, what no psychologist could do, what no self-help book could do. No guru, no false religion, no best-selling book could do. What we couldn’t do in our own strength and abilities, Jesus did by His death and resurrection. By faith, you’re a new person in Christ. You don’t identify yourself by your past sin.
My one of my favorite illustrations is Rahab, so often referred to in the Bible as, “Rahab the Harlot.” Brothers and sisters, today, the moment she placed her faith in Jesus Christ, Rahab was a saint (Hebrews 11:31). Now, of course, she placed her faith in Messiah to come. Living under the old covenant. But that woman “believed God, and it was accounted to her for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). And you don’t be calling her, “Rahab the Harlot,” anymore. The same for you that might have some kind of sexual past. We don’t see you “through your sin.” We see you “through the righteousness of Jesus.”
The problem is, and can be, you don’t see yourself that way. You don’t believe God. Trust him. Despite your feelings; despite what the popular statement is today; despite the popular view. By faith, you are a new person. Period. That’syour identity. The old you, the Bible says, is literally dead (Rom 6:11). Gone. No more.
So often, in discussions with men and women, just talking about our past, to some degree, we just come to…sometimes we’ll come to that conclusion. Man, I’m so glad I did this recently. I forget who it was, but I just like I said, “Man, I’m so glad I didn’t know you before you were saved. I’m so glad I don’t know the old you.” And then the response is, “Well, I’m glad you don’t know the old you, either.”
And I’m like, “I know, I’m glad, too.” So many of us, we get the newer version and we say, “amen,” to that. I don’t want to know anything about how bad it was. I get to get the benefit from the newness of life. If…for someone that didn’t experience in your life, I can’t even hold it against you. I don’t even know. I never experienced. Never saw it. Can’t use it. I get to encourage the newness of life in you. And that’s where the body of Christ is so good, where we can just encourage one another in the Lord; we can encourage each other (1 Thess 5:11). The problem is this: So few followers of Jesus believe what I’m saying right now.
And even in the room, or out on the radio at a later date, there’ll be people that argue with me. Maybe email me. “You don’t understand.” “You don’t understand.” As if “me understanding,” is going to change what the Bible says. But what do you mean, “I don’t understand?” Do you think I don’t wrestle with my flesh? You think I don’t have regrets from my past? You think the enemy doesn’t want to make me remember where I came from and say, “you never left?” Dad, you’re the same old ugly person you think I….
What? But what difference does it mean if I understand or not? We don’t live by understanding. We live by faith. You see, here’s what happens when you listen to someone telling you the truth and you respond, “we don’t understand.” You’re making…you’re giving yourself an excuse not to obey. You didn’t go, “all the way,” to the Lord with your difficulty. You stopped at some man or some woman that read you the Bible.
And said, well, you know, I think I can stand up and say, “I’m an alcoholic,” okay. But I’m telling you, according to the Bible, you’re free. You’re completely delivered. God is your strength and your hope. You’re a, “new creation,” in Christ. “Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” And the other part of this is…some people, when they approach Jesus…they approach Christianity…some among us, you think that you have to change everything and work real hard and try real hard, and then maybe you’ll make progress.
You believe all the work is on you to stay away, and thus you work hard, and maybe you end up frustrated and upset and beat up and ultimately condemned. It’s in condemnation that makes you more vulnerable to sin again. And that’s the cycle of your life. You haven’t broken the cycle by faith; trusting God that He’s delivered you. And yet many of you dobelieve this truth. And because of that, you behave according to what you believe and you live in the newness of life. You find victory is yours. You find joy of the Spirit is yours. Yes, we wrestle with the flesh, but there’s great victory in the Spirit. You can claim it tonight, you know, as we sing the final song, as we end in prayer, you can just claim the victory is yours. The victory over alcohol, your victory over identity. The victory over your singleness. Victory over….
I mean, I think of how much pornography goes on in the church today, but not during church services. During church services, phones are usually in the pocket, and people’s minds are on the Lord. Does it not tell you something? If you can do it for 90 minutes, you can do it for 90 days. And if you can do it for 90 days, you can do it for the rest of your life. Why? By the power of God, you can’t sin and seek the Lord at the same time. I mean, that’s the truth, church. You and I, we can’t sin and seek the Lord at the same time. So how about we seek the Lord?
Live according to the belief that God is for us and not against us. Live in such a way where we yield ourselves. Another verse that’s very important when it comes to your identity is Galatians 2:20. You should memorize this one as well. Whenever temptation knocks on your door; whenever you’re wondering if you’re really delivered; whenever you feel the urge in the heaviness of temptation; whenever you want to go back across the Red sea, even though it’s impossible, you still want to try, you jump in the waters you’re going, “I think slavery would be better for me. I like the past. I want to live the past.”
You remember this: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). How can you stay away from sin? The power and the presence of Jesus Christ. His finished work in your life. You can still continue to argue and debate and wrestle and live a very difficult, defeated life, if you so choose. But God presents to you today the life of victory. God presents to us today even a reminder of victory that is ours in Christ. We fight from a position of victory, not defeat.
“But you don’t understand, Ed.” I probably don’t. And even if you explain to me your story and how you were raised and what burdens you carry, perhaps the best that I can do is not understand, but empathize. I can feel with you because I have a story, but faith in Jesus Christ is not conditioned on a pastor understanding. It’s conditioned upon your faith, your trust, your obedience. Moment by moment. Day by day.
The pressure is off. You don’t have to perform. You don’t have to live up to some standard. You just walk in the newness of life; believing in the finished work.
I was talking to a sister this weekend, and we were talking about the topic of forgiveness, which is always difficult. Forgiveness, bitterness, resentment, kind of all packaged together. It’s always a difficult thing, but the solution is to walk in forgiveness. To forgive, and forgive, and forgive. You go, “Ed, where’s that in the Bible?”
Well you remember when Jesus was talking with Peter and he gave him a math equation, “seventy times seven” (Matt 18:22). So some of you, when you go home, you got that? You know how you do those little marks on your wall cheat sheet?
*chitch chit*
*chitch chit*
*chitch chit*
*chitch chit*
*kwaaak*
Whatever, however you do it. But Jesus isn’t asking us to count. He’s asking us to live. You don’t get off the hook on 491. He’s going, “Look, Peter, this is monumental,” man. This can be a big issue in your life, one where you don’t have enough fingers to do the math. There’s going to be a big one. It’s going to be something you’re gonna have to learn. You can’t count it. But even if you wanted to count, I want you to start here. Go ahead and count how many times, and you’re going to lose track because this whole world is in need of forgiveness. Our freedom is in need of forgiveness.
But even so, we don’t need to worry about the numbers of the math. Why? Because we’re a new creation in Christ. Old things have passed away. The forgiveness that we’re to give has already been given to us. We don’t have to work it up. We don’t have to, “ugh, I’m going to do it now…I’m going to see them!”
Well, you want to see them; so you can forgive them.
“Ugh, I don’t want to see them!” Then you don’t want to forgive them.
You see, you could take things into your own hands, or you can let the Lord do the work. Because he’s already working in you. Just follow your leader. There’s a, “greater than Moses,” among us (Deut 18:18-19; Lk 9:33-35). His name is Jesus. He’s leading you through the trap. It’s actually not about you at all. God’s going to take care of you. He’s also going to take care of your enemies, so that you can live in the Promised Land; that’s chapter 14.
So, verse 30, “The Lord saved Israel that day out of the hands of the Egyptians. And Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and his servant Moses.”
God accomplished what He said and built the faith of His people. Why? Because they looked to Him; and they trusted Him. Remember, church, “things are not always as they appear.” They’re not always as you see them. Sometimes what we see…sometimes we see what we see and come to the conclusions that aren’t always correct. Sometimes we don’t see everything. But I do know this, in Psalm 37: 23, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his ways.” And that just tells me today, in my own life and my own situation, as we keep our eyes on the Lord, He’ll get us where we need to be. Follow Him. Closely. By faith. Amen?
Man, it’s so good. This is such a great chapter. You just write your name on this. Lord, you’re doing this work in me, through the cross. You’re. You’re ready. You’re ready. You’re already out of Egypt. It’s just another…can you imagine just taking…you’re working and you’re here. It’s getting harder. They’re making more demands on you. You’re crying out to God, “I can’t believe this; I can’t believe,” and then God takes it all the way through. You watch all the plagues, get you out, and then He brings you to the…what is the Red sea compared to the deliverance of Egypt? And what is the circumstance that we’re faced right now compared to the unbelievable, insurmountable problem of your own sin? God dealt with the hardest, most difficult thing in your life first, and everything else is going to follow.
So Lord, we thank You. I thank You for the privilege of being a new creation in Christ for the faith that we need to obey You and follow You. For the challenging words that would stir our understanding. It would challenge the way we were raised; it would challenge the way what the popular notion of the world is; what the popular trend on social media might be; what the experts have been saying; what the surveys have been saying; what the popular things have been saying. We want to trust Your Word that is outlasted every popular thing throughout all of history. But it’s hard, God, because we live in this world and in this carcass and our past…we’re reminded so much of our past, it’s unbelievable. It’s overwhelming. But we look to You, Lord. You’ve even put people in our lives like Moses, and we just follow. Okay, we’re going to follow. We got that example we’re going to follow; and, then, You miraculously work with the cloud and the…and so Lord, we just pray right now. Pray for those that are wrestling with their identity. And they just think they’re going to have to settle the rest of their life with a little bit of sin or a little bit of skewed identity or a little bit of wrestling. They’re always going to want to…whatever it may be, Lord, You know the hearts of Your people right now, and I pray, burn it into our psyche, Lord, and into our hearts and our soul, the truth that we’re a new creation in Christ. Sometimes it’s hard to believe, but we trust You, Lord.
And I just want to pray for those of you that…this is the message to your heart, this, “identity thing.” It could be, like, gender; it could be the LGBTQ stuff, like, just the way it’s so hard because your emotions, and your feelings, and even attractions. Listen, you’re a new creation in Christ. It’s the best identity God could give you. You’re not identified by your temptations. You’re not identified by your past sin. You’re not identified by your behavior. You’re identified by what God is doing in your life. He’s cleansed your life; changed your life. You’re becoming Christlike. God dwells in you. You have freedom. Freedom is yours. You’ve been crucified with Christ. All things have passed away. So you don’t need to acknowledge or stand or walk or anything.
Lord, I just pray those that they’re receiving this to their heart. But they’re fighting, and it’s wrestling, and it’s hard to believe everything in them wants to rage and stand up and, Lord, I pray a peace upon their hearts right now. A peace that passes all understanding, that they’d be anxious for nothing. The fears that they have about identifying as a follower. I pray even those that aren’t connected to You, yet. Right now, they’re not born again. And this is…this is heavy stuff. Deliver and free and cleanse and wash. Lord, do a work in the life of your church that we would walk in our God given identity and freedom. And alcohol, that’s one a close on to my heart, Lord. Those that still feel like they’re in bondage and they’re recovering. “They’re recovering.” Lord, we declare over them today, they’re recovered! They’re delivered! And you are recovering and delivering them in the newness of life. Bless them, Lord, encourage them. Let them have a nugget of truth. Let it be sinking into their hearts and their minds today, Lord. That we might march forward across on dry land. Dry land! Because of the miraculous wonder-working power found in you, Jesus. We pray that in your holy and righteous name, Amen.
We pray that you’ve been encouraged by this Bible study, delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church. For prayer, call us at 877-30-GRACE. That’s (877) 304-7223. To listen to this message in its entirety, or to join us for our live stream services, visit us online at calvaryco.church, or download our free Calvary Church app.
Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.
Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.
Keywords: Pastor Ed Taylor, Bible study, Calvary Church, Aurora, Colorado, Exodus 14, fear, anxiety, biblical principles, encouragement, Proverbs 29:25, Matthew 10:28, Israelites, Red Sea, Egyptian army, prayer, action, Joshua 7, Psalm 46:10, hope, Jesus, faithfulness, presence, positive example, influence, new identity in Christ, faith, forgiveness, obedience, victory.
